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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25746337">Reset</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackNightSystem/pseuds/BlackNightSystem'>BlackNightSystem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Glee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Dubious Consent, Enemies to Friends, Fluff, Glee Season/Series 03, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, McKinley High Cheerios, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, William McKinley High School</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:15:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,266</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25746337</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackNightSystem/pseuds/BlackNightSystem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian Smythe had never considered himself fragile, but sometimes you can't see things for what they are until it's too late.</p><p>Sebastian has transferred to Mckinley and the New Directions, when faced with the boy who nearly blinded one of their own, decide to take matters into their own hands. But what if there is more to Sebastian than his arrogant shell? You don't attack people like Sebastian had without something deeper going on beneath the surface. Will anyone notice the teen is struggling before it becomes too late?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Santana Lopez &amp; Sebastian Smythe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Am I too old to be writing Glee fanfiction? Yes. Is Glee fanfiction still relevant? Well, was it ever? Either way, I fully intend on procrastinating my life away with this. A warning though, this will contain abuse, homophobia and possibly sexual content throughout so if these are in any way distressing for you, please leave now. I don't want anyone getting hurt over Glee fanfiction, seriously, it's not worth it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sebastian pulled open the new locker to be greeted by the strong scent of rotten food. So much for general hygiene. Despite realising that transferring schools wouldn’t be a walk in the park, he hadn’t been prepared for the more overlooked differences between public schools and the prestigious Dalton Academy. The boy added ‘lack of decent janitors’ to his growing list of complaints. Private school had made him far too expecting of many things.</p><p>Complaints or not though, there was little Sebastian Smythe could do about his current schooling situation. His father’s payments to Dalton had finally run out, leaving Sebastian lost in a world of grownups. Not only had he lost his school, the safe haven he spent his early life searching for, but he had also lost his first family. The Warblers, despite all they had been through, always reached the other side together. Singing was more than just a hobby and the Warblers were the first people Sebastian had found who shared that mentality. Not that they would speak to the teen anymore though. Rightfully so, in his opinion. Dalton’s glee club had not been responding to Sebastian since the slushie incident with the New Directions, outright ignoring him once he had decided to top off his little show with a final slushie to Santana’s face. The rumour mill was in full swing. If you were to ask the teenagers of Dalton Academy, Sebastian Smythe had been expelled from the school and then forced by his father to attend a public school. Some sort of rich person’s punishment no doubt.</p><p>Now that was something which made Sebastian laugh. He’d never been an open book but the idea that even the Warblers, people he had spent nearly every waking moment with, could have missed that something so huge was happening in his life amused him to no end. Sebastian Smythe, his parent’s little angel, had now, for two weeks, officially been an emancipated teen.</p><p>Emancipation wasn’t exactly something you breezed through. Sebastian had spent his past few months at Dalton drifting through classes and practices in a haze, only to spend his evenings pacing the floor of his dorm, much to his roommate’s dismay. Between meetings with social workers and courtroom dates, the boy had been far from okay. It wasn’t like this was a choice forced on him however, it was certainly something he had hoped for. While the teen was not yet willing to admit to anyone how his father had treated him throughout his life, he was happy to share with whoever it concerned that his homophobic father and their whore of a girlfriend were not providing the stable family life he needed. Living alone was what he deemed his best option, and luckily the court and a series of social workers had agreed.</p><p>He did not see his current situation as an excuse for nearly blinding Blaine though, he had wanted to throw that slushie in Kurt’s face out of pure jealousy. The students aware of the event had decided that Sebastian had been jealous of the fact that Kurt was dating Blaine, who he clearly had a crush on. How Sebastian saw it, however, was that he was jealous of Kurt’s life. Hurting Kurt was an in-the-moment decision where Sebastian added rock salt to the slushie to ruin something, just anything, in the boy’s life. Kurt had a loving boyfriend, a caring father, he now had Finn as a brother who was willing to protect him from anything… Simply put, Sebastian Smythe was jealous of Kurt Hummel’s life.</p><p>Each time Sebastian acted out, his father was forced to look at his son. The man could so willingly hurt the boy himself but the idea that Sebastian would then do such stupid things himself seemed to puzzle him to no end. All the teen had wanted was for his father to give him just a shred of attention that wasn’t surrounded by mindless abuse. He wanted a father like Kurt had. As far as Adrian Smythe was concerned though, the boy was ruining the family name. It was convenient to have someone to take over the business, but why bother when that person was so undeserving of it? With Sebastian still a child, kicking him out would be hard to justify. Legally removing a child’s dependence on you? Well, that would be like having no son at all. That would work out perfectly for both Adrian and Sebastian Smythe.</p><p>His mother was a whole different beast. The woman may have still been living in France but she still had to be contacted once Sebastian and his father decided the boy had to go. At first, Juliette Smythe was appalled by the idea that her little boy would be living alone with nowhere to go. How would he make money? Would he still receive an education? The thought, however, to suggest that he moved back to Paris to live with her, never once crossed her mind. A mother’s love apparently only stretched so far. Included in the reach, as if to ensure that the boy would have no need to take one step closer to her, Juliette purchased a small flat near a high school, in her son’s name. Sebastian would have been touched if he could find it in himself to give a shit about what his mother was doing. After all, there has to be a fairly good reason to leave your own mother and move to an entirely different country to live with your abusive father willingly.</p><p>Sebastian had his reasons, just as his mother had her reasons for buying him a place to live. Sometimes, you just get desperate. The teen, however, had never once thought that one day, he would be so desperate that he would end up attending William McKinley High School.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So this is shorter than I expected but please bear with me, I haven't written anything in years and never on this site. And in reference to that, why is making things italic so damn hard?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Not seconds after shutting his locker, Sebastian felt a hand grasp onto his grey hoodie. His first day of a new school and the bullying was already about to begin.</p><p>
  <em>Not that you don’t deserve this.</em>
</p><p>“Hey,” exclaimed Finn as he turned Sebastian around and shoved him back into the row of lockers, “I thought I saw you walking in. I don’t know what you’re deal is, but you can get your pathetic little self back to your posh boys' tea party. You’re not welcome here.” Finn let go of Sebastian as he took a step back, taking in the sight. Without further warning, he punched the new kid directly in the face.</p><p>
  <em> You hurt him so he’s hurting you. This is karma. Let him. </em> 
</p><p>Before Sebastian could break the bad news to Finn, telling him he was here to stay, he realised he was alone. Finn had just walked off and any of the other kids who may have been watching on in fascination at the pair had continued about their day already. He was really going to miss Dalton’s strict no-bullying policy.</p><p>The voice in the back of his head was screaming at him to do something but Sebastian could only stand with his back still glued to the lockers. Oh how often he had listened to that voice, but now when his brain finally gave it some more gentle words, he could not understand it. His internal battle died down when another familiar face appeared in front of him.</p><p>“Are you okay there?” Will Schuester was definitely not on Sebastian’s list of people to meet, but nothing else had been going right for him lately so why wouldn’t the creepy Spanish teacher suddenly appear in his moment of weakness? “It’s Sebastian, right? I was informed you were transferring from Dalton. Have to say, it will make my life far easier without your voice in the Warblers,” the man was clearly trying to sound friendly, in his own way, but it really was not working. Sebastian considered the man for a moment, the legend of the New Directions. That’s when it dawned on him. This guy knew. He knew he had moved school, he knew the reason why, he thought he knew what was happening to him. There was no way in hell he was going to get Mr Schue to leave him alone anytime soon. Of course, he was going to want to be his saviour.</p><p>Realising he had been there for longer than he had expected, Sebastian decided to respond. “Yeah, yeah I’m here now,” he mumbled, any confidence he had once felt was draining out of him the longer he was at the school. The boy moved his hand up slowly to his cheek where he could feel a bruise slowly forming.</p><p>“Follow me, I’ll show you to the school nurse,” Mr Schue instructed, taking Sebastian’s gesture as a hint to move on. He asked, “want to tell me how that happened?”. Sebastian, deciding it was best to stay as far away from McKinley’s glee club as possible, shook his head and glued his gaze to the floor. They continued their walk in silence.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Guess who I just saw? Sebastian Smythe walking the corridors!” exclaimed Mercedes as she marched herself into the choir room. “Who the hell let that happen?” A series of outraged responses filled the room as anger began to build. Blaine sat quietly in his place next to Kurt.</p><p>“You won’t believe who I ran into today,” began Finn as he entered the room late. The angered voices quietened as Finn had spoken, demanding attention.</p><p>“Sebastian by any chance?” questioned Quinn, a disgusted look settling on her face. Noticing he’d missed something, Finn looked across the room of people and took in their anger.</p><p>Shuffling in his seat as if ready to move already, Puck broke the silence, “well, I say we let him know what we think about this... whatever this is.” A wave of agreement spread throughout the group.</p><p>“But Puck,” Kurt began, “you have a point there. What exactly is this? How the hell has he ended up here?” Subconsciously, his hand reached out for that of his boyfriend and clung on. It was Blaine’s first day back at school since the slushie incident and the last thing anyone wanted was for another interaction with the very person who had assaulted the boy.</p><p>Adding his thoughts to the conversation, Artie replied innocently, “maybe Dalton has finally expelled him. He can’t exactly be the model student right?” Despite this being the most reasonable conclusion, the idea that Dalton Academy would actually turn against one of their own seemed absurd. But what else could it be? Sebastian’s family was certainly not lacking in cash so the only other reason for his presence would be to mess with the competition much like Jesse had.</p><p>“We’re going to get to the bottom of this guys. Scare him off before his pretty little private school ass gets comfy,” Puck announced to the club. Nothing was going to stop him from introducing that ferret to karma.</p><p>“Yeah, Blaine you don’t need to worry. We’re not going to let him near you again. I saw him before I got here, landed a pretty good punch. This is going to be easy,” Finn declared, looking directly at Blaine as he spoke. Blaine, who had not yet shared his thoughts, nodded appreciatively at the boy. Before he could encourage or possibly consider discouraging the proposed violence, Mr Schue walked through the choir room door.</p><p>Mr Schue left the folders of music he had intended to pass out on top of the piano before pulling over a chair to sit in front of the glee club. “Guys I have some news for you. Now, I know you may not like this, but I want you to stay calm and listen to what I am saying before you interject,” he glanced across the group to see nodding heads before he continued. “Now, some of you may already be aware, but for those of you who are not, Sebastian Smythe is, as of today, a student of McKinley.”</p><p>“Sorry Mr Schue,” interjected Rachel who had stayed unusually quiet throughout the previous discussion. She stood up from her seat and turned so she could see both her fellow students and their teacher. “We have all just been made aware of Sebastian’s arrival moments ago. What I would like you to explain though, is why this is allowed? And how come no one told us before he started? Surely we should have been given a chance to protest effectively!” she said in disarray.</p><p>While Blaine was the target, although not the intended one, of the recent attack, New Directions all held anger towards the other teen. He had nearly blinded one of their own, and overall, he was just a bully. This could have been their chance at never seeing Sebastian Smythe’s smug little face again but instead, they were stuck with it for the rest of the year apparently. That only being, of course, if he was not indeed spying on them before the upcoming competition. In reality, that definitely sounded like something Sebastian and only Sebastian would bother doing.</p><p>Sending a disapproving yet also understanding look towards Rachel, Will decided to continue with his point. “I understand that you are all deeply hurt by his actions,” he saw Blaine wince and grip hold of Kurt just a little tighter, “but I need to know that you will not be attacking him. He hurt us but that does not give you the right to hurt him. That is not how we do things here, we are accepting and inclusive whatever your past. I want you all to remember that Sebastian is new here now, and that can be extremely hard. However, to help with this, I have considered asking him if he would like to join the New Directions.” The response he garnered was only to be expected. The show choir erupted into anger and began yelling over one another in the usual fashion.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Mr Schue, but this just isn’t acceptable. You can’t seriously expect us to sing with that monster. He could have blinded Blaine!” Quinn exclaimed over the ruckus.</p><p>“Now hang on guys,” Will began, cutting off a particularly frightening comment about what they should do to the new boy Santana had been sharing with the group. “I never said you had to like him, and I have not even asked him to join yet. All I’m saying is that maybe we could see this as a fresh start. He’s going through a difficult time right now and the best way any of us know to make that better is through singing. I’m sorry guys, but I’m going to ask him. What I want is for you to at least try to be civil and get to know Sebastian.” Mr Schue’s speech seemed ultimately ignored as Kurt began to stand, dragging his boyfriend with him. Continuing to mutter, Santana led the others out leaving just Artie and Sam left with Will.</p><p>“Mr Schue,” Sam addressed, “I think you should really change your mind about that offer.” Sam, the boy Will had never once thought could be mean, even seemed appalled by the idea of giving Sebastian a second chance. He left the room with Artie and Will headed towards a now empty chair. He was not sure how he expected the glee club to react, but he was certain of something; that had definitely not gone as planned.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The school nurse had taken one look at Sebastian before determining that she was most likely going to be seeing a lot of him in the future. She handed him an ice pack for his cheek before having to leave him in order to deal with another student.</p>
<p>“You know you can tell me who did this to you, right Sebastian?” Mr Schue asked, deciding it was within his rights to sit down on the chair next to Sebastian’s. He looked at the teen for a while, waiting for an answer, but eventually, he understood. He was going to be ignored. “I was informed of your current situation before you started, Principal Figgins thought it was best for me to know as you are going to be in my lesson and will likely be joining the glee club.” Will had expected that to at least gain him a reaction. The boy, for all he had done to his club, was still a boy. He could hardly hate a student and handing out second chances was what he was known for. On a more selfish note, he had heard Sebastian singing with the Warblers and his voice with the New Directions instead of the competition could only ever be a benefit for his group.</p>
<p>Sebastian stayed stoic, watching the floor. The school day hadn’t even technically begun yet. He arrived early to find his way around the school but he never thought he’d see anyone who’d even bother to look at him. Having better things to do, Will stood up from his chair. “I’ve got to get to rehearsals, I hope to see you soon Sebastian. Under happier circumstances, I hope.” The man put a comforting hand on Sebastian’s shoulder for a brief moment, before taking his leave.</p>
<p>The ice against his cheek was beginning to sting and his eyes had glazed over. The teen hunched forward on the chair the nurse had left him on and took a minute to breathe. He wasn’t stupid. He knew Mr Schuester was going to try to help but there was only so much which could be done for him. He was definitely going to be spending a lot of time with the school nurse and not in the ways he would previously have joked about. Thinking things over, Sebastian considered writing his name on the chair to claim it, like those on film sets reserved for the stars. Before he had time to fish out a pen though, the school nurse reappeared to inform him he was free to go. The damage hadn’t been too bad. Finn had been strong enough to leave a bruise but that was all.</p>
<p>The bell signifying the start of school sounded as Sebastian exited the room. Referring to the paper map and time table a lady at the office had printed off and handed to him when he arrived, the teen found himself outside of his AP biology class.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Sebastian turned the key in the lock slowly, too tired to be paying much attention to what he was doing. Being free from his family had always seemed like a dream but now it was here he was ashamed to say that he almost missed the past. Arriving home to a familiar setting would have been a comfort after the day he had. The only run-in he had with the New Directions had been his early morning meeting with Finn. However, that did not mean that he wasn’t aware that they would be onto him soon. It was not just them he had to worry about either. Apparently the tall and lanky look he had been supporting was going to do him no favours with the other students. </p>
<p>The school's jocks were simply that, the stereotypical assholes he had not had to deal with since moving in with his father. Before moving to Paris, his old school had been full of that type; big-headed and intent on making his life hell. Paris had been considerably better but there would always be those unwilling to accept him. Contrary to the image he had created for himself, Sebastian had not always been as stuck-up and full of himself as he seemed at Dalton Academy.  While his earlier education had still been exclusively private schools, his parents had been proud to show him off as their well-mannered and sweet young boy. Until they filed for a divorce of course; Sebastian tagging along with his mother to her new, only mildly more modest, life in Paris. He had not been to any dinner parties or galas since then.  His father had not had a nice word to say about him since then. </p>
<p>Abandoning his bag next to the door, he stepped further into the apartment. It really wasn’t bad for a teen living alone but in comparison to what he had grown up with, it was sorely lacking. To the left of the door was a kitchenette and the rest of the small room was filled with a settee pushed against the right wall, a bookcase to the right of the door and a coffee table looking lost and empty. Straight ahead from the front door sat two more plain white doors; one was leading to a bathroom holding only a sink, toilet and barely functioning shower while the other led to the bedroom. When his mother had bought the flat, the several pieces of furniture he owned now were already there. For that very reason, he had been avoiding the stained settee since he had moved in two weeks prior.</p>
<p>He sat on his bed, covered in a blanket he had taken with him from his father’s house. Homework stayed safely in his bag while Sebastian sat there with the curtains drawn and the lights firmly off. It was going to be a long night.</p>
<p>Some time after sitting down, the teen found himself lying curled up as a child would. He could almost hear his father’s girlfriend sneering at him. ‘You act like a child, Bas; you’re far too sensitive for someone your age,’ she would say, ‘I can make you a man.’ He can hear it bouncing off the walls as they move in closer and closer but all he can do is stay laying on his bed like a child. There was nothing to argue with there. He was just a kid who ran away when he got scared. What would his father do if he walked in to find his son as he currently was? What <i>had</i> he done? Nothing pleasant.</p>
<p>The clock on the wall read 8:52 pm. Taking the blanket along for the journey, Sebastian decided to start on the awaiting homework at his coffee table. It wasn’t as if he had any plans on sleeping anyway.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Morning arrived far too early. The expensive phone which now seemed out of place in Sebastian’s lounge began to vibrate, signifying 6:30 am. He couldn’t quite place when he had fallen asleep but he did have a vague memory of checking his phone around 2:30 am. He rolled over from his position on the floor and ran his hand across the coffee table in order to find his phone and shut it up.</p>
<p>Without a full uniform to wear anymore, getting ready was far quicker than it ever had been. Sebastian changed into a plain blue T-shirt and black jeans after finishing in the bathroom. The idea of breakfast had briefly crossed his mind but after looking over at what little there was in the cupboards, he decided to skip it. Free meals weren’t offered at McKinley but there was still money sitting in his bank account which, with proper budgeting, could provide him with enough food until he had a stable income.</p>
<p>It was all well and good being offered a house, but Sebastian never thought to consider what else he would need. Eventually, he would have to start paying bills and the fridge was still empty. He had bought a lot with him from his father’s house but still, at some point, he would need to buy new clothes and shoes for school. There were so many simple things no one had considered warning him about. He didn’t own an iron, he’d look a mess if he didn’t have a hoodie to cover up the wrinkles. Someone had always been around to solve that for him before.</p>
<p>Breathe in deep, hold it, release. Repeat. The idea of ironing was not going to send him into a panic attack. How pathetic had he become, unable to do the most basic of things?</p>
<p>
  <i>You’re going to cause your own death.</i>
</p>
<p>Moving on from his previous train of thought, Sebastian packed his school bag and picked up the change he had left on the kitchen worktop to buy a sandwich on his way to school. He could do this, just one day at a time.
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>William McKinley High School stood menacingly in front of the new kid. Not too long ago, Sebastian Smythe would have sauntered into the building like he owned the place; he’d glare intimidatingly at the students who dared to look at him and smile politely at the staff he passed. Oh, how things could change in such a short amount of time. As much as he appreciated the roof over his head, couldn’t his mother have spoken to him and actually asked where he was wanting to live? He would have picked anywhere else but the apartment he currently had which was forcing him to attend McKinley unless he wanted to walk for miles. The longer he stood outside, the harder it would be to make himself go in. Taking another deep breath, Sebastian headed for the front door.
</p>
<p>The teen walked through the halls towards his locker at a later time than the day before, not wishing to be caught alone in the corridor again. Apparently though, the number of people around did not matter at all to McKinley’s football team. Two grape slushies dripped from his face and down one of his few remaining clean T-shirts. Laughter hit his ears first as four boys stood around him. He recognised one of them from his history class the day before; unsurprising considering how much time he had spent staring at him. Amongst the laughing students, he heard the faint sound of the cute boy from his history class mutter the word 'fag'  in his direction. Was this how the New Directions always felt?
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing so please feel free to correct anything grammar or otherwise. Also, I'll happily take plot suggestions, I'm not nearly creative enough to write a story with an actual plot all the way through.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Everyone is out of character, but I'm having fun so oh well. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The boys’ toilets, nothing special. Sebastian ran the tap on lightly as he attempted to splash water onto his ruined hair. What a lovely start to the day. Taking a handful of paper towels, he began to dry off his hair the best he could. His T-shirt was ruined but luckily he had left a plain hoodie in his locker he could wear to cover up the stains. Zipping it up, he looked at himself in the mirror once more. Now was as good a time as any to move on. He made his way to class.</p><p>The corridors were now empty so finding the English classroom was much easier. The only problem was that he was about ten minutes late to the lesson. He opened the door gently, hoping to sneak in with little attention. Unfortunately, Mr Bryce had other ideas. “Ah, you must be my new student! Well, better late than never. Sebastian, was it?”</p><p>Inwardly sighing, Sebastian replied, “Yes Sir, sorry I’m late.” He shut the door and stayed standing in front of the silent class. The boy was used to easily taking command over an entire room, however, everything had just felt so wrong lately. Awkward was not something anyone would normally use to describe Sebastian but right there, he was doing a very good job at changing that.</p><p>The teacher examined the boy for a brief moment, judging the character. After his pause, he nodded. “Well, never mind that. Just don’t let it happen again. There’s a seat next to Blaine at the back there.” Sebastian’s eyes travelled to the only empty seat in the room, where he caught Blaine quickly turning white. The grip Sebastian had around the strap of his bag tightened subconsciously. He went to take his seat.</p><p>The English lesson passed smoothly, the teacher finishing up his talk and expecting the students to complete the work quietly before the end of the period. While others had spoken quietly among themselves throughout the exercise, Blaine had seemed quite okay with ignoring Sebastian, the only person he was sitting next to. It wasn’t like Sebastian blamed him, he had nearly blinded him after all. He just wished that he could explain himself to the boy. If he was honest with himself, he did really like Blaine and he never wanted to hurt him. Hurt Gay Face? Sure. But not Blaine.</p><p>Of course, it was hard to just suddenly speak to Blaine. He obviously wasn’t ready to hear any of Sebastian’s apologies and excuses just yet. With that decided, Sebastian left the classroom alone before the other boy had even packed up. Next up was Biology, a subject the teen could not stand. He was rather thrilled to find that Blaine did not have the same lesson though.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Lunch came sooner than he had expected. Sebastian left his lesson and walked towards the canteen through the crowded corridors. The teen had spent his free time the previous day sitting outside on a bench he had found distanced from the rest of the grounds. While that option had provided him with safety, he was not going to be seen as a coward on top of everything else. He strolled into the canteen as casually as he could while feeling like he was going to be sick. The room was, as expected, packed. Only one table offered free chairs and there was no way he could go anywhere near them.</p><p>The New Directions sat on a table all of their own, the rest of the student body happily avoiding their company in fear of the inevitable social suicide that came with being seen with them. Maybe being a coward was not the worst thing in the world. At least it would keep him alive. Sebastian left the canteen in favour of his own bench. Not, however, before some of the table he had been examining had turned and spotted him.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eyes, Puck saw the ex-Dalton boy scuttling out of the room. Nudging Finn and Mike, he got up to follow the other. Sebastian hadn’t noticed them behind him as he walked towards the closest door leading out into the courtyard. Puck reached out to grab him as they caught up. Pulling him backwards, he turned to see if the other boys had followed him. There behind him stood Mike and Finn, but also the majority of the other New Directions.</p><p>“Hey Ferret, I don’t think we’ve met.” Puck knocked him to the floor with ease. Sebastian sat up to look at the group surrounding him. Fearing Puck was about to come at him again, he shuffled back. Before he could though, an unlikely person came to his rescue.</p><p>Kurt grabbed hold of Puck’s arm in order to make the teen look at him. “Calm down, Puck. What do you think you’re doing?” he said with outrage. The New Directions paused for a moment, looking at Kurt in shock. All these people surrounding Sebastian were beginning to make him panic. They couldn’t keep seeing the great Sebastian Smythe weak. Had he really fallen so far that even Hummel was defending him?</p><p>“I don’t need a girl to stand up for me, Princess,” Sebastian remarked, pushing himself up from the floor. This time, Finn moved to take a swing at Sebastian, wanting to defend his brother. Luckily, he was stopped by Santana getting in the way. “Aw, look at that. I have a fan club!” Sebastian feigned appreciation. His expression was one of pure, scheming joy. Santana looked about ready to punch him herself.</p><p>Kurt ignored the comments and looked Puck in the eyes. “He’s not worth it. With Regionals coming up we can’t afford to get in trouble. Trust me, I’m sure I hate him more than any of you here, but we’ll just have to wait. Regionals come first.”</p><p>The New Directions stood around Sebastian with equal looks of shock and approval. For all they wanted to see Sebastian suffer, the glee club had to come first. There was nothing stopping them from solving the problem after that though. “Okay fine, but as soon as we win, I’m going to end you. Are we clear?” Finn announced, stepping into the debate.</p><p>Before Sebastian had a chance to retaliate, a short-haired woman in a tracksuit marched down the corridor to stand between the teens. “Hey Lanky, with me,” she demanded, before leaving.</p><p>Feeling unsure of himself, Sebastian froze for a moment before trying to catch up with the woman. He recognised her, didn't he? Isn't she the one always arguing with the Nude Erections? His sudden burst of confidence began to fade as he saw that the glee club had all taken a step back to avoid the teacher.</p><p>Sebastian found himself taking a seat in front of a desk near the PE facilities. The woman, ‘Sue Sylvester’, as the sign on the desk read, took her seat behind the desk. “Now listen here,” she began, leaning forward. “I don’t like your sort.” Sebastian couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. “You're rich, stuck-up and frankly just weird-looking,” she declared.</p><p>Feeling the need to defend his honour, Sebastian interrupted her, “is this going somewhere? I have better things to do than entertain the elderly.” Unexpectedly, Sue’s facial expression did not change. She leant back to look at the boy for a moment.</p><p>“You’re going to join the Cheerios,” Miss Sylvester said matter-of-factly.</p><p>“Well, respectfully Miss, I think I’d rather skip the happy, pom-pom dancing. It’s one thing being gay, but openly introducing myself to a group of big-headed cavemen while wearing spandex isn’t going to do anything for my social status.”</p><p>Sue Sylvester snorted at him. “Now listen closely because I won’t say this again. I have something you need. The Cheerios have the largest, and most deserved budget in the school. I want my girls, and new boy, to look as far from the trashy Lima Heights nuisances that they are, as possible. That means the best of everything. My girls live the life of luxury, only levelled out by constant fear, something I believe you are used to.” She smirked at him knowingly.</p><p>Sebastian looked around the room, considering his options. “What are you getting out of his?” He knew he’d gotten her there. Why else would she offer a random kid a spot on her precious team without a reason?</p><p>“Well,” Sue began, “you and I have a common, shall we say, enemy. You hate those happy-clappy disappointments. They think they’re all so perfect but you know what? They are worth nothing! You are going to get rid of them. For all I try, that slimy little reject they call a teacher keeps putting an end to my genius. But with you, I know I have someone who will do exactly as I say. You have no other options.”</p><p>She was right. Sebastian did want rid of the little show choir. And, while he would never admit it, he wasn’t doing great. Bills still needed paying and eventually, he would finish school, what would he do about university? Cheerios would offer him a failsafe, something to fall back on if his current proposed… arrangements, did not go to plan. These arrangements he had discussed on his first day at his new flat were not things he enjoyed spending time thinking about. Sure, they got him money, but not enough.</p><p>Sue sat back in her chair to take in the boy. “Well, Ferret, welcome to the Cheerios.”</p><p>Sebastian couldn’t hide the smirk on his face. He was going to enjoy taking down those smug little brats.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not sure about this chapter. Happy to hear your feedback :-)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wednesday had started out better than expected. Coach Sylvester had summoned him to her office that morning to present him with a Cheerios outfit and an overly specific list of rules ranging from diets to views on the opposition. Walking around the school in a cheerleading outfit was made far more appealing when Sebastian caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and had to stop and stare. There was no way Blaine could resist him now. Much to his surprise, the student body didn't seem to give a shit about him that day, let alone what he was wearing. The school day passed fairly uneventfully. With his first Cheerios practise directly after school though, the boy had spent most of the day waiting for his life to end.</p><p>The fact that the new kid had not even auditioned for the team only added fuel to the fire. As soon as Santana saw Sebastian walk into the school sports hall after a blissful day of not seeing his face, she nearly punched him. How dare he waltz in there like he owned the place. And for his tiny ass to take a spot on the team? Had Coach lost what little sanity she had left? Brittany held her back as she aimed for his face, politely informing her that it was wrong to abuse animals. The boy only smirked. Great, he was his usual, dickish self then. </p><p>“Just wait ‘till New Directions have won Regionals, I’m gonna smash in your little twink face before you even know what’s happening,” Santana spat at him.</p><p>“Now Shaqueera, is that any way to talk to your teammate?” He couldn’t help but laugh at her pissed off glare. This was going to be fun. Before Santana had a chance to respond, Coach Sylvester entered holding a megaphone.</p><p>She stopped only a meter away from the group but raised the megaphone to say “get in line, idiots. We have work to do. Now, I’ve perfectly rechoreographed our routine to fit in New Gay. I recently learnt that people love that kind of mindless inclusion.”</p><p>“But Coach this isn’t fair. He’s an asshole! He’s never even done cheerleading before anyway,” Santana protested. From behind her, another girl backed her up by muttering something about their inevitable failure with Sebastian now on the team. </p><p>“Quit talking. He’s gay, of course he can do cheerleading. Let’s commence.” She left no room for interruptions as she began shouting more commands through the megaphone. </p><p>To his credit, Sebastian wasn’t actually that bad. He’d always enjoyed dancing and for a brief moment in his childhood, he’d even taken gymnastics lessons. What made his effort all the more worth it was Santana’s face when Sue complimented him more genuinely than she thought the woman was ever capable of. Unable to admit that the boy was probably a good addition, Santana stormed out with as much force as she could manage as soon as the practice had finished.</p><p>Walking out of the locker room alone, Sebastian hummed softly to himself. He’d had a fully enjoyable experience. “Gay Face, a word” interrupted his peaceful moment. Coach Sylvester pointed in the direction of her office and began to lead the way. She reached her desk and sat down in front of him, creating an already familiar feeling.</p><p>“You did well, I knew I was a genius. My end of the deal now though,” Sue began, lacing her fingers together under her chin as she leant forward. “I want you to join the little freak parade so I can really get some information. My girls are starting to turn, I need to find something that will keep the likes of Santana from disobeying my orders. You got that?”</p><p>Sebastian pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the woman. “So, you want me to provide you with the means to blackmail your own cheerleading group?” </p><p>“You say blackmail, I say encourage. I want Will’s group obliterated as soon as possible. Now get out of my office, next practice is Friday. Be there or you're out.” With that, Sue Sylvester left her office. Sebastian stood up from his own chair quicker than he probably should have done as he leant back on it when he felt a wave of dizziness. Maybe skipping breakfast before so much exercise wasn’t his smartest move. He needed to ration his food though, he couldn’t afford to shop more than once a week. He was confident in his little career as a troublemaker with the head of the Cheerios, but if he was going to survive school, he was going to need more money. Unfortunately, he knew just how to get it.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>A soft knock at the door stopped his hand moving across the page holding his maths homework. His phone screen informed him the knock was 20 minutes late. “The door’s unlocked,’ Sebastian called from his position on the floor. The door opened to reveal the expected; Erik, a middle-aged businessman who often came to visit Sebastian’s particular block of flats.</p><p>It had been his first night in the flat when he first heard the knock. Erik had been looking for a contact but he couldn’t quite remember the flat number he was given. Seeing Sebastian ultimately turned his attention away from the male prostitute he’d been originally looking for and he invited himself in for tea. From that night, he’s been showing up at the door every few days. It had become beneficial, however. Erik hadn’t found a need to go looking for another man in a while and Sebastian, after a tearful breakdown following a ‘session’ as Erik called them, had someone to pay half the bills for him. </p><p>Erik sauntered into the flat that evening with a look that could only mean trouble. He took off his jacket and dared to sit down on the settee which Sebastian had still yet to brave. “Angel, you work far too hard,” he spoke after watching Sebastian’s eyes on his homework for several minutes. The man’s patience was appreciated at least. “Why don’t you leave that and relax. I came all this way after all.”</p><p>Sebastian huffed and sat up straighter. “I’m just not in the mood tonight okay? Can’t we do something else?” Sebastian was not yet brave enough to suggest a meal out but the idea wasn’t off the table. Erik seemed to genuinely appreciate his company. </p><p>Erik smiled and nodded, but decided to push anyway. “What’s happening to you angel, you're sad, you keep getting bruised.”</p><p>“I don’t want to talk about it so I won’t. I don’t have to explain myself to some middle-aged whore,” Sebastian rose to his feet as his anger grew. He headed towards his bedroom anyway, he needed the money. He sat down on the bed and waited for whatever would happen next. To his surprise, it was rather pleasant. </p><p>“Come on baby, just tell me and I can make it all go away.” Erik sat down on the bed and looked hopefully at Sebastian. Knowing his meaning, the boy leant into his side. If he kept going, maybe he could earn himself a free meal tonight.</p><p>“I’m running short on cash. It’s harder to find a well-paying job around here than I expected,” the boy announced with faux confidence. He braced himself unnecessarily for the response. Erik only laughed.</p><p>“The bills? Is that really all you're worried about?” He definitely had a way of making Sebastian feel more stupid than he ever had before. “Honey, I have an idea. I like the little arrangement we have now, and I know you do too. But a man needs something more to keep him interested, you understand? Now, how about this, if I take our playtime in a different direction, I’ll let you live bill free.” Bill free? The halved payments were not much, but they were certainly more than Sebastian could manage. A ‘different direction’ though? That didn’t sound remotely positive. The man had seemed so incredibly docile. </p><p>“I want some extra cash. Just a bit extra every now and then for buying food and whatever. Then I’ll do whatever you want, I won’t say no,” the boy declared, looking far less sure of himself than he originally had. Maybe the man was still who he thought. Maybe he really did enjoy his company and just wanted a chance to go out and show him off every once in a while. </p><p>Erik stood up, dragging Seb with him. “I like that, angel. I can work with that. Now, how about we go for a walk together? We could see the sites, grab some food and then I must take you shopping. We’re going to need a few things.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just as a quick note, I know coach Washington was around in season three but she sorta doesn't fit in with the whole thing I've got going on so I'm just pretending she didn't exist.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mr Schue greeted the students that sat in the choir room before walking over to the board and tapping it. “Right guys, Regionals are coming up and we need to think of a setlist. But for now, I have a better idea. For our next assignment, I want us all to choose songs written or performed by someone Latin or of Latin descent.” The man continued to ramble off poorly received words until David Martinez walked through the door. They began singing together and Santana felt better than she ever had before.</p>
<p>She never once considered the impact of filing a complaint against Mr Schuester because whatever happened, he had it coming. Why the hell would you think it appropriate to apply for a position as a Spanish teacher when you couldn’t actually speak Spanish? More to the point, who would actually hire him? It was ridiculous. Mr Schue’s, quite simply <i>racist</i>, lessons had become too much for the girl so she did what was right, for the good of the students’ education. </p>
<p>One of those students who just so happened to be in the most boring and pointless Spanish class of human history was Sebastian Smythe. Taking a language was a requirement and although French would be an easy grade for him, it meant he couldn’t do all the other subjects he had wanted. Spanish was the only real option. Mr Schue spent lessons sitting at the desk organising Glee projects or standing at the front spouting off nonsense that often bordered on racism and if not, it was just plain rude. The man meant well but Spanish was clearly not his forte. Sebastian was only in his third week at the school but already he had given up on the subject. There was another man, however, who Sebastian had seen on the occasional day he had stayed at school later for revision time or more recently, additional Cheerios practice. He was certainly hot, that may have been the reason Sebastian took any notice of him, but there was more than that. The man appeared to be teaching a night school Spanish class and God bless his soul, he actually knew the language. The school hall was busy on Tuesday morning while Cheerios practised but throughout all the commotion, he heard Santana and Britany talking about the fact that someone had complained about the glee teacher. The glee teacher who had invited the hot Spanish teacher along for Wednesday’s glee rehearsal. If the man was coming back again to perform with them, how could Sebastian just ignore that opportunity? </p>
<p>Part of the boy’s agreement with Coach Sylvester had been that he would join the glee club the first chance he got, and help her ruin them once and for all. As appealing as that sounded, he had yet to actually go about joining the club. It wasn’t that he was scared, Sebastian Smythe didn’t get scared. He did, however, become cautious after considering the fact that everyone in that club hated him and were quite willing to get him hurt. But with the added bonus of a fit teacher, what was there to lose? He had to do it anyway and one sad look at Mr Schue would be enough to make him cave, offering up a place in the club. As it so happened, Spanish would be his first lesson of the day.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Sebastian changed out of his Cheerios outfit before lessons started. The morning practice would provide a good enough excuse if Coach Sylvester were to ask but really, what could make someone pity you more than wearing worn out clothes while looking more than a little depleted. Mr Schuester was easy to manipulate. Without his Cheerios uniform on, Sebastian was confident that he’d be a member of the New Directions by the end of the first period. </p>
<p>The time to test his theory came forty dreadfully long minutes later when the bell signalled the end of his Spanish lesson. Mr Schue had, of course, spent the lesson droning on about something completely irrelevant but Sebastian didn’t mind. He had a plan to focus on anyway. The boy made his way towards his teacher’s desk as the other students filed out. “Sir, can I talk to you?” He was beginning to consider a career in acting, or possibly espionage.</p>
<p>Mr Schue, who was focused on a document on his desk, looked up to meet the boy’s eyes before smiling and gesturing towards a nearby seat. “Of course, take a seat,” he waited for Sebastian to pull over the chair before continuing, “how can I help?” Will smiled invitingly which nearly made Sebastian laugh, maybe not that spy career then. </p>
<p>“Well it’s about the glee club, Sir,” The teenager had, despite his current economic situation, spent enough time in boarding schools to know the appropriate way to talk when you wanted something. Bat your eyelashes and look sad, it worked every time. He never got expelled after all. “I know what I’ve done, and I know I’m not exactly liked,” his pre-prepared speech was cut off early by a middle-aged man’s desperate attempt to get the approval of a student.</p>
<p>“That’s not true, you’re not -” Sebastian had other places to be, he continued his speech over the top of Mr Schue’s assurances. </p>
<p>“I appreciate that Sir, but I know I’m not liked by most people. It’s my own fault, I know. I tend to frustrate people just by being there. Even my parents couldn’t cope with that.” Bringing in the parents, that was bound to persuade the man. Sebastian could see him cracking before he’d even begun. “I don’t know anyone else at this school though and sooner or later they’re going to find out I’m gay which won’t be fun. I love singing though, Sir. Performing is my life. You know I’m good. I just need somewhere to fit in for once. I need the New Directions,” Sebastian wondered if it was too far to start crying. Well, it couldn't hurt. </p>
<p>Will looked distraught at the boy’s speech. How could he turn his back on Sebastian when he clearly wasn’t in a good place. He had been told about the boy’s emancipation. That so rarely happened and for the kid to still be attending school while supporting himself? That was a lot. How could he possibly leave him? But what would the Glee kids think? Surely they’d understand, the club was meant for people who had been rejected. Half of them bullied the other half before joining anyway, and they’d moved past that. What was different with Sebastian joining? He’d have to talk to them. </p>
<p>“We have a rehearsal tomorrow, straight after school. How about you come along? I’ve heard you singing before so I don’t see the need for an audition. We have a guest tomorrow anyway, so it will be a fun experience even if you don’t want to stay. What do you say?” Will stuck his hand out after the proposition. </p>
<p>Sebastian lifted his gaze to meet the teacher’s as he shook his hand. Another victory for Smythe. He stood up before Mr Schue added, “you don’t have to do everything alone Sebastian, I hope you know that.” Sebastian left with the words of wisdom. The rest of the school day Sebastian sat wishing he <i>could</i> do something by himself for once.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The door to Sebastian’s flat clicked gently against the latch as Erik invited himself inside. “Honey, I’m home,” he chuckled as he left a briefcase and gym bag leaning against a kitchen counter. “You know, I’ve always wanted to say that,” he confessed as he stood behind Sebastian who had seated himself on the floor in front of his coffee table to get some work done. Soft fingers ran gently through the boy’s hair. “I’ve brought us our shopping Seb, how about I remind you of what we picked up,” he bent down and hummed into Sebastian’s ear. </p>
<p>Sebastian sighed but leant back against the man. He needed the money. “I just have this maths homework to finish then I’m yours for the night.” Delaying the inevitable was in no way beneficial. </p>
<p>“Maths work, Angel? Are you forgetting who you’re talking to? I’m an accountant for a reason, Seb, slide it over and I’ll help.” Sebastian did as he was told while Erik moved to sit on the settee in front of him. “Ah, I see what you’re doing wrong, Angel, look here…”</p>
<p>Ten minutes past and Sebastian was putting away the exercise book while Erik was emptying the contents of his gym bag. The boy feared turning around. He knew what was coming but that didn’t make it any easier. Erik was going to pay the bills for him. All that was owed, not just half. Sebastian couldn’t afford to lose that. He turned from his school bag and let Erik unbutton his jeans. “Now, Angel, let’s take this to the bedroom,” came the voice of the being currently snaking his arms around Sebastian’s frame.</p>
<p>Sebastian followed him in. He needed the money.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, it's been over a month since my last update but here we are. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sebastian found himself drifting through his lessons, unable to take anything in. He was still sore from the night before and his flat was in need of cleaning up. His mind stayed transfixed on his previous evening activities, only allowing him peace when he was startled out of the trance by sudden attention directed at him. “Mr Smythe,” called Mr Bryce, his English teacher. The man had been impressed with Sebastian's skill demonstrated in his homework when he had first arrived, but the boy’s tendency to spend the lessons staring into space had started to get on his nerves. “If you could be so kind as to communicate with your partner rather than letting Blaine do the work, I’d greatly appreciate it.” Sebastian felt his face getting warmer as the rest of his class turned to look at him.</p><p>Sebastian turned to Blaine and leant closer, attempting to speak quietly in order to avoid any more unwanted attention. “You don’t mind, do you?” He left off any comments about Blaine’s appearance in fear of being hit due to their close proximity. He couldn’t resist smirking at him though, in the way that always seemed to make Blaine blush. </p><p>His face did not gain the desired reaction. Blaine kept writing throughout Sebastian’s short interaction with Mr Bryce and had yet to look over at his partner. “I’m doing the first five questions, you can do the rest,” Blaine responded, handing over a spare copy of the questions list.</p><p>Sebastian sat back on his chair properly and placed the sheet in front of him. So much for improving relationships. He was going to be torn apart at the glee club rehearsal later. The boy took out a pen from his bag for the first time in the lesson he was already halfway through. The questions were nothing too complex, serving the purpose of proving that they’d all read the first half of the book the class had been working on. Although he’d never admit it, Sebastian didn’t mind reading and had actually enjoyed the experience. Despite that, the questions seemed to blur across the page in front of his eyes as he slowly zoned out once more. He was still in pain.</p><p>“Hey,” Blaine interrupted, annoyed to be having to initiate a conversation with Sebastian Smythe. It wasn’t that he hated the boy. Sure, being knocked to the floor in pain at the hands of a frozen drink wasn’t exactly the most fun he’d ever had, but Sebastian hadn’t really meant for that to happen. It was just hard to listen to him float around school attempting to charm people, joining the Cheerios, if the outfit he’d seen him in a few days ago was anything to go by, when Blain was still feeling the effects of the incident. It would have been far easier to forgive Sebastian if he didn’t have to see the boy every day. Why couldn’t he have stayed at Dalton? Had he gotten him expelled?</p><p>“Are you going to talk to me, Hot Stuff, or just admire the view?” Sebastian questioned. Maybe Blaine really would kill him.</p><p>“I’ve finished my questions, and the lesson’s nearly over. Are you done yet?” Both boys looked down at the lined paper in front of Sebastian. He’d gotten as far as writing both his own and Blaine’s names at the top of the page, so at least he had done something. “Yeah, I thought about that. I did all of them just in case. You owe me.” God bless Blaine and his inability to let others suffer. Or possibly he was just worried about being blamed for not finishing all the questions. Either way, when the bell rang to signify the end of the lesson, Blaine was able to hand in the question sheet and a page of lined paper with the answers neatly written.</p><p>Sebastian couldn’t help but smile as he watched Blaine leaving the room. As bad as he felt about achieving nothing, he was pleased that Blaine had helped rather than getting him into trouble. The boy was too nice for his own good. Sebastian had hurt him, how could he find it in himself to help him? Whatever the reasoning, Sebastian accepted it gleefully. He packed up his belongings and made his way towards the canteen. There was no way a little rivalry was going to get him hiding every lunchtime until he graduated. Besides, that plan hadn’t gone too well on his first day anyway.</p><p>Now he had joined the Cheerios, McKinley was a much easier place to be. Sure, he was currently the only male cheerleader but it wasn’t as if there had never been one before. Besides, the way in which Sebastian had decided to strut around the school as if he owned it was enough to put off most people from going anywhere near him.</p><p>The male cheerleader was starting to become more like his old self. He had played the victim for Mr Schue and after that performance, he had built up the courage to sit himself down with the rest of the cheerleaders and their dumb male puppy dogs for lunch. Sebastian had a certain charm to him that the girls apparently liked, and had even welcomed, promising to save him a seat in future. Enjoying his time there yesterday lunch, Sebastian strolled into the canteen with the intention of sitting there again. What he had never thought to consider though, was the possibility of fellow cheerleaders and glee club members Brittany and Santana, deciding to sit there too. Well, he was going to have to do this at some point. The glee club hadn’t been too hostile with him since their last altercation, apparently deciding to wait until after Regionals to take out their own anger on him. In fact, it was Brittany herself who had informed him of that, while trying to stop Santana from punching him after a snide comment he’d made in a Cheerios practice.</p><p>Breathing deeply, Sebastian made his way towards a spare seat at the table. There was little point in only going half in like he had been doing for the time he had already spent at McKinley. He had a job to do, so why not have a little fun with it song the way, no matter how nervous he was beginning to feel about it. Sebastian was going to have to see the girls at the glee rehearsal later anyway, so he might as well let them get out some of their anger towards him before then when he’d have the rest of the club to deal with too. Or possibly add fuel to the fire, Sebastian hadn’t decided by the time he’d reached the table. “How’s it going?” Sebastian asked in order to make his presence known.</p><p>Santana choked on the liquid she had just drained from her can and Brittany looked up at him like a meerkat before assisting the other girl. “What the hell do you want, Smythe?” Santana questioned once she was able to breathe again.</p><p>Before Sebastian had to reply, a girl in Santana’s own year surprisingly reached out to defend him. “He was invited,” the girl responded. Sebastian thought Maddie seemed familiar. Or, was it Mandy? Santana’s face conveyed only disgust and horror. Sebastian couldn’t blame her, who would want him anywhere near them? He’d never been particularly easy to get along with. Maybe he’d found his true home amongst the stereotypical bitchy cheerleader girls. Well, besides Santana and Brittany.</p><p>“That seat is taken, I invited my invisible friend,” Brittany piped up, only adding further confusion to the situation. Sebastian nodded slowly but sat down anyway.</p><p>Santana took offence and backed Brittany, “hey, you heard her, you can’t sit there!” Again, Sebastian didn’t need to say a word as he appeared to have made a new friend in the cheerleader he couldn’t even remember the name of.</p><p>“Well, he’s better than you, anyway. Why should he have to leave.” So she had a crush on the male cheerleader then. That seemed to make even less sense. Despite the awkward feeling rising in Sebastian, he didn’t bother to complain. </p><p>“Look, Lima Heights, I don’t like you. You don’t like me either. We’re even,” he made a futile attempt to get the girl to be quiet so he could eat his lunch in peace. Although, he was starting to enjoy watching her increasing levels of anger. Santana was not going to stand for that.</p><p>“Oh,” she started, “Lima Heights? I’ll show you Lima Heights you-”</p><p>“Babe, you’ve gotta wait,” Brittany cut her off, dragging Santana back down to her seat she’d risen from as her anger spiked.</p><p>“Yeah, Babe. I’m worth the wait,” Sebastian laughed, antagonising her. Sanatana was blushing softly at the use of the pet name from Brittany. He looked Santana in the eyes and smirked. “If you don’t like this arrangement, you are not going to be happy about the glee news.”</p><p>Both Brittany and Santana had looks of horror once more. What was that supposed to mean? “What are you planning, you little bitch?” Santana shouted. Sebastian continued smirking.</p><p>“Oh, you mean Mr Schue never told you?” Sebastian questioned, leaning forward in his seat which was conveniently directly opposite Santana.</p><p>“Well obviously not, idiot,” Santana replied when it became clear the boy was not going to continue his point. Her insults went ignored. </p><p>Sebastian rose from his seat, not having eaten anything yet. He hadn’t bothered packing more than a sandwich that morning anyway so he wasn’t particularly fussed. The boy shouldered his bag and smoothed down his hair, taking time to make eye contact with his new cheerleader sidepiece.</p><p>“You’re leaving already?” The girl sounded genuinely upset and Sebastian couldn’t help but feel like it was possibly the first time in that girl’s life where she <i>had</i> been genuine. Santana sat fuming at the sudden change, unsure of how she was supposed to react and for once, unsure of how to get what she wanted. Brittany on the other hand simply looked confused.</p><p>“I’m afraid so, I have better places to be.” Sue had asked him to help her end the New Directions once and for all, but she had never specified whether or not that meant also messing with her very own Cheerios members who just so happened to be a part of both groups. Whether the coach wanted him too or not, Sebastian felt the desire to tear apart every single one of them, apart from maybe Blaine, before they had a chance to do the same to him. As he turned around to walk off, he placed his hand on Santana’s shoulder. “I’ll see you at glee practice, Babe.”</p><p>Sebastian laughed softly to himself as he heard the voice of Santana Lopez screaming at his back. Maybe this was going to be fun after all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Constructive criticism and future ideas are of course welcome.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sebastian’s day continued uneventfully, with lessons providing a hazy backdrop to his thoughts. Despite his little outburst at lunch, he had yet to be met by angry New Directions members wanting to express their thoughts on his future attendance. Despite dozing off in maths, the day was nothing above average. However, his school day ended with his first glee session. Sebastian had worried about a lot of things throughout his life, more recently, where he would get his next meal, but still, the idea of spending an hour with a group of people who hated him was the worst thought he’d ever had. He was known for being just a tad dramatic, though, so perhaps not. Either way, an activity he usually took great joy in participating in was starting to make him feel sick. </p><p>That sick feeling was possibly the reason why he was standing in the boys’ toilets opposite the auditorium doors rather than in the room itself. The sound of music playing through old speakers drifted through him, pulling him towards it. Yet he couldn’t make himself move. He knew he was late, and he was very aware that he had practically begged Mr Schue to let him join, but that didn’t change his attitude. He’d wanted to join the New Directions no matter how much he told himself that it was only happening due to the Cheerios coach’s demands. Sebastian truly missed singing after he had been forced out of Dalton, although he regrettably knew that the Warblers were more than happy to see him gone. </p><p>The sound of a hand dryer from the girls’ toilets on the other side of the thin wall encouraged Sebastian to step back into his head. After splashing his face with water and attempting to breathe a little deeper, the waltz out of the room with his usual bravado. The door into the auditorium swung back aggressively as he used far too much force. Luckily, no one seemed to be paying attention as the performance had already begun. The enticing night-school Spanish teacher had taken the stage with Santana, performing in such a way that no one was able to take their eyes off of the pair, Sebastian included. He headed down the stairs and took a seat at the end of a row a few steps back from the rest of the group. He wasn’t trying to hide his presence; he just didn’t want to ruin the amazing performance, of course. </p><p>Far too soon, though, the duet had finished. Loud applause filled the room as they took their bow. The moment was unfortunately spoiled, however, when Santana caught sight of Sebastian. “Hey,” she shouted, looking directly at him, “take your pervy eyes off me!” </p><p>Unable to resist, Sebastian replied, “oh, you have nothing to worry about; you’re not my type.” He added a sweet smile directed at Santana’s duet partner just to hear the disgusted protests of Rachel Berry. </p><p>After Santana had called him out, the rest of the New Directions had turned back to see him. The shock that still sat on their annoying faces was enough to fuel Sebastian’s dreams for a month. Mr Schue, in a futile attempt to prevent a fight, stood up and clapped his hands at the group as if they were five years old. Perhaps that was really how people saw them. It didn’t work. </p><p>Rachel’s voice gravitated above the rest of the commotion as she rather dramatically stated that “this is torture! I swear I’m in Hell! what have I done to deserve this?”</p><p>“Mr Schue, I didn’t think you were serious about this. How could you condone <i>his</i> actions?” Kurt asked with an acidic tone. </p><p>Achieving a drop of order, Mr Schue spoke over his group to say, “guys, I have heard your complaints. However, I believe we should have respect for our newest member. Sebastian asked politely, and as we have stated, anyone is welcome in glee. I mean, Puck, you used to bully half the people in this room; you’ve been accepted and have become a valuable member of the group!” </p><p>Finn, taking up the role of representative, pointed out, “yeah, but Mr Schue, Puck never tried to blind anyone!” Blaine squirmed in his seat as if he was trying to hide from the attention he was receiving for once. </p><p>Sebastian, seemingly always in the mood to put on a show, took that moment to defend himself. “I never tried to blind anyone either! If Blaine hadn’t have dived in front of Gay Face, we wouldn’t have a problem.”</p><p>An audible gasp came from Rachel's direction while Sam muttered a brief “not cool, man,” under his breath. Sebastian couldn’t help but smile. As anxious as he had felt before entering, fueling people’s hatred of him was forever entertaining, especially if it involved upsetting them along the way.  </p><p>“Idiots, shut up,” Santana yelled from her place on the stage, “asshole, you too,” she added, looking at Sebastian. “Stop talking to him. Can’t we just remember why we’re here?” </p><p>“Anyone would think you were in love with me, with all the time you spend defending me,” Sebastian smirked, seeing Santana’s eyes turn colder than he thought possible. </p><p>“Oh, I have not finished with you yet. I am so damn close to killing you. But it’s Mr Schue’s turn to perform. He promised,” the teen gestured towards her Spanish teacher as she made her way off of the stage and towards the seats. If it was possible, the tension in the room would have doubled in its thickness. Oblivious to the spiteful tone of Santana’s voice, Mr Schue stood up from his own seat and headed towards the stage. The New Directions spent another moment muttering hateful comments towards Sebastian before the music started and the glee club teacher began to sing. </p><p>There was no other word that came to Sebastian’s mind as he sat back in his chair and placed his feet on the backrest of the one in front, but offensive. From start to finish, Mr Schuester was racists and just plain annoying. Although Sebastian’s language skills didn’t go beyond English and French, it was obvious that the man’s Spanish was anything but good. Yet the rest of the Nude Erections sat listening happily. All but one, at least. Santana scowled at the man throughout his entire performance, and rightfully so. Sebastian was really beginning to hate this man. He finished his performance in an overly dramatic manner before the group, minus Sebastian and Santana began to applaud. </p><p>Looking anything but happy, Mr Schue watched Santana. “It was you,” he realised. </p><p>Santana was unphased by this revelation, confirming it instantly. “Yeah, and I’d do it all over again after that performance.” She had every right to do so, Sebastian believed. </p><p>Mr Schue, however, did not seem to agree with Santana’s sentiment. “You’re messing with adult things here, Santana; this is my job. This is my life.” How the man thought he could base his life on teaching a language he couldn’t speak was anyone’s guess. It was only a matter of time before someone else figured that out. </p><p>“This is my education, and it’s not a joke to me although it seems to be one to you,” Santana responded. She dutifully let Mr Schue splutter out nonsense before pointing out how he had no idea what he was doing. “Why don't you just dress up as the Taco Bell Chihuahua and bark the theme song to Dora the Explorer,” she suggested. Not sticking around to listen to whatever excuses Mr Schue could come up with, Santana stood up and marched herself out of the auditorium. To Sebastian’s surprise, no one seemed inclined to follow her out, not even Brittany, who seemed to follow her everywhere. </p><p>Sebastian saw the commotion as an excellent time to get out of the firing line in case the rest of the singing group remembered he was there. Following Santana out would probably have gotten him attacked in any other situation. Still, as no one else seemed to want to go after her, they may have just accepted Sebastian’s apparent offer. It wasn’t as if he liked the girl, but any excuse to get out of that room seemed acceptable. Fully intending to sneak out without having to communicate with Santana, Sebastian was shocked to find her sitting on a bench outside the neglected door he had planned to leave through. </p><p>Santana looked up when she heard the door open suddenly. “What do you want, Meerkat?” She hadn’t sounded disappointed, to Sebastian’s surprise, but instead just fed up. That was definitely something he was used to, at least. </p><p>“You know, you’re becoming really unoriginal,” he informed her, sitting as far away from her on the bench as he could. </p><p>“Can’t you see I’m not in the mood for your shit?”</p><p>“I can, actually. That’s why I came here. I enjoy seeing people squirm.” Sebastian has meant to sound joking, but the look Santana gave him strongly suggested that he had failed at that. </p><p>Sighing and finally turning to look at him in the eye, Santana asked, “what do you want from me?”</p><p>In all honesty, Sebastian had no idea why he had even sat down after he opened the door. He could just have easily turned around or even walked straight past. Yet, for some reason, he offered his silent support. Clearly no well enough, though, if Santana was assuming that he had sat down next to a crying girl in order to attack her. “You didn’t look happy,” he told her after a moment of consideration. </p><p>“Yeah, well, that’s ‘cause I’m not, idiot. How would you feel if everyone thought your entire culture was some taco-eating, sequin-wearing <i>joke</i>?” Satana bit back.</p><p>Sebastian couldn't help but smile at the fact that she still had her feisty personality even when she was blatantly crying. “I see your point. It doesn’t explain why you're crying, though, does it?”</p><p>“Stop being <i>nice</i>. You’re making me feel physically sick,” she exaggerated. The idea of Sebastian Smyth comforting someone really was a terrifying thought. Santana looked at him, suspiciously, trying to figure out his plan.</p><p>Sebastian, however, looked away and leant against the back of the bench. “Maybe I don’t want to be a dick anymore,” he said honestly. Where had that come from?</p><p>“As if, what else would you be? Are you even capable of feelings?” Santana asked out of pure curiosity. If anyone would be a robot, she’d place her bets on Sebastian, sex-obsessed or not. What she didn’t expect, though, was for the boy to look genuinely hurt. “What’d I say?”</p><p>“You think the world pictures you are eating tacos off the ground; the world thinks I play lacrosse in the morning and spend my nights getting into enough trouble that daddy has to bail me out before the cycle repeats,” Sebastian muttered bitterly. Why the hell was he talking to Santana still? He genuinely couldn't comprehend what had brought on this sudden moment of truth, but he didn’t want to spoil it by insulting her too much. It felt nice to talk to someone who could possibly understand him. She was a bitch, too, after all. </p><p>“You say that as if it <i>isn’t</i> your life summed up in a sentence,” said the girl, yet with a hint of apprehension. Maybe she could finally find out why he was even at McKinley. If she could take down the weasel that was Sebastian Smythe, it would be the greatest feeling in the world. </p><p>“Maybe it’s not. You all think you know me. Well, guess what, maybe you fucking don’t. Maybe I just want you all to leave me the hell alone. What, you think I’m here to steal your secrets? Guess what, your little glee club fucking sucks. What would I possibly want to copy off your lot?” Somewhere in the middle of his rant, Sebastian had stood up from the bench and taken a step away. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to breathe. </p><p>Santana, shocked by whatever it was that she had just seen, stayed firmly in her seat. “Okay, what? You’re such a drama queen, you know that, right? Sit down.” For some reason, Sebastian did just that, keeping his eyes fixed on the grass below his feet. “So, why are you here, then?” </p><p>Sebastian looked more frantic and scared than Santana could ever imagine. “I can’t exactly go anywhere else. I’m emancipated, and Dalton is more expensive than I thought. This was the closest school to my new place, so it was here or fail my education and be stuck in this shithole for the rest of my life,” it felt like a weight was lifted from his chest after Sebastian had finally told someone that part of himself. Santana’s expression was unreadable, and she paused in consideration for longer than necessary.</p><p>“How are you emancipated?” she finally asked. “I thought you had to, like, have a job and make money for that. Why would they just let a teenager run their own life if they’re still in school?” The question wasn’t exactly what she had intended to say. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she considered telling him it would all be okay or that he wasn’t that bad. Santana had never been good at comforting people though, that was more Brittany’s area. </p><p>Sebastian seemed unfazed by the question, his eyes glazed over as if he wasn’t really there. “I wasn’t lying when I said my father is a state’s attorney. The law doesn’t apply to him, apparently,” he laughed bitterly. “Money really has its benefits.”</p><p>The space between them was not uncomfortable exactly, but the world seemed off. The pair had only met on a few occasions, and in their time together, they had never done anything but argue. Sat next to each other in a moment of softness was becoming too much for Santana. “Why are you even telling <i>me</i> this? It’s not my problem. What am I supposed to do about it?” She regretted her words as soon as she saw Sebastian’s face.</p><p>“You’re not supposed to do anything. You’re fucking useless. What could you possibly do for me?” </p><p>Forgetting her previous sympathy, she responded, “hey, don’t talk to me like that! I will kick your ass so far into next week you won’t be -”</p><p>“Okay, I get it. Stop talking,” Sebastian snapped, digging his nails into his palm. Again, they fell into silence. What confused them both, however, was that neither considered moving. “You can’t tell anyone,” Sebastian announced. The teenagers hadn’t looked at each other, but somehow the agreement was understood, allowing them to settle into silence still. </p><p>“Look, I’m sorry,” spoke Santana in order to deter the growing void. </p><p>Without thinking, Seb asked, “what the hell are you sorry about?” He seemed painfully unsure of himself, cringing at the sound of his own strained voice. </p><p>“Do you normally swear this much?” Santana burst out, unable to handle the emotion. She took a breath, not expecting an answer in the gap, before speaking herself. “My family aren’t bad people. They love me, and I know that. I know they just want the best for me. Sometimes though, it’s just a bit suffocating. I keep thinking, what would happen if my dad suddenly decided he didn’t want me in the house anymore. He wasn’t exactly happy when he found out about Brittany and me. I’m just scared that they will hate me forever, that they can never look at me the same again. It’s not like I can tell Brittany that either. She wouldn’t understand.”</p><p>Sebastian felt that one. He hadn't found anyone with who he could really talk about his past. Throughout the court sessions and meetings with his social worker, he had kept quiet about the abuse he'd lived through and he didn't intend to change that now, but maybe it wasn't so bad to just share the basics, right? “My dad is homophobic too. It doesn’t matter what I do; I’ll always disappoint him. And my mother, I have no idea how she feels about me. She doesn’t want me anywhere near her, that much is clear. She bought me a fucking flat rather than telling me I could go live with her. It’s not like she doesn’t have a thousand spare rooms herself,” the boy muttered depressingly. Santana felt herself subconsciously moving closer. </p><p>“Who needs parents anyway,” Santana declared, nudging Sebastian. “You’re a complete dick, and you definitely still look like a meerkat, but maybe you’re not as bad as I thought.”</p><p>The boy laughed genuinely, finally looking at Santana with happiness he had not conveyed through a smirk. “Queen of the Bitches is going soft, who knew?”</p><p>“Anyone would think you were in love with me if they saw you were coming out here to check on me,” Santana laughed, referencing Sebastian’s own words.</p><p>Sebastian scoffed but not harshly, “everyone knows I’ve fucked half of Ohio’s male population, I don’t think there’s any danger of that.” </p><p>“Have you, though?” she asked, pausing for a moment. Maybe that was just another lie the boy had created for his own persona.</p><p>“I have,” he said with a smile before adding, “and the half I haven’t fucked, a woman too, have fucked me.” He looked distant for a moment as if regretting the last part. Clearly, something was going on there then. For a brief moment, Santana considered asking about it before remembering who she was.</p><p>She looked over at Sebastian’s sullen face. “You’ll come to glee again, right?”</p><p>Sebastian thought for a moment before smiling at the girl. “Wouldn’t miss a chance to piss off Miss Berry, would I?”</p><p>They let the silence rebuild the distance between them as the rest of the day passed by.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>My apologies for neglecting this story, hope the longer chapter makes up for it in some way. I have no idea where I'm going with this but I thought Santana and Sebastian would be sweet as friends so here we are. Could a friendship with Blaine and/or Kurt work? Would it have to be something more? I haven't decided yet, if anyone has any ideas, please feel free to comment them!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There wasn’t officially a glee rehearsal on a Thursday, yet somehow half of the club always seemed to find themselves gathered in the choir room for their morning break. What was equally usual was Santana storming in rather dramatically. </p>
<p>“What’s happened to you?” asked Artie bravely. </p>
<p>Santana, clearly unhappy, responded with, “who said anything’s happened, Wheels?”</p>
<p>“Well, it’s just that you left pretty quickly after you argued with Mr Schue. We were worried about you,” Kurt attempted to defuse the situation the best he could, mildly fearing Santana’s wrath. </p>
<p>Finn, however, was either oblivious to the obvious upset, or he wanted to provoke Santana. “Where did you go yesterday, after you left the auditorium?” </p>
<p>“I just went to clear my head, spoke to the meerkat.” As soon as she had brought up the boy she had been speaking to the day before, Santana regretted it. </p>
<p>Sam looked horrified for a moment before bombarding Santana with questions, “you talked to Sebastian? What did he want? Are you okay?” </p>
<p>“It’s none of your business, Troughty. I’m not a kid anymore,” Santana declared with anger. It wasn’t as if Sebastian was a (known) mass-murderer. What danger could she have possibly been in with the boy?</p>
<p>Finn took offence to the very idea of a conversation though, demanding to know, “why would you talk to Sebastian? He slushied Blaine. Hey, he even got <i>you</i>.” </p>
<p>Anger radiated from Santana. After an argument with her dad that morning, she really wasn’t in the mood to start another one and especially not over something as insignificant as Sebastian Smythe. Although, ever since Finn had outed her, she still held a distaste for the boy which she had been trying so hard to rein in. Unfortunately, though, her poor mood was not good for that as she couldn’t help but snap at him. “Well, maybe because I wanted to? Maybe because I know if I tell him something, he’s not going to tell the whole school, Finn!”</p>
<p>“I doubt that. Sebastian is the biggest snake I’ve ever met, and I talk to Rachel,” Mercedes interjected, just trying to look out for the other girl. </p>
<p>“Well, maybe I don’t care about your pathetic little opinion. I don’t like him, okay? He’s still an arrogant dick, but I still talk to you losers despite your own selfishness. Why can’t I talk to him?” Halfway through her own argument, Santana began to wonder whether it was even worth the effort. She’d meant what she said, she didn’t like Sebastian. How could she forgive him for ruining one of her best outfits? Oh, and nearly blinding someone, as the glee club never failed to bring up. What she was beginning to hate even more than Sebastian, though, was the fact that everyone around her seemed to believe that she was incapable of making her own decisions and living her own life. </p>
<p>Kurt seemed to think he could see straight through her act. “Is he blackmailing you? If he is, you know we can help. No one would let that beanpole ruin you,” he tried to sound as reassuring as possible. </p>
<p>Santana groaned in anger before heading towards the door, “I am so done with you guys, stay out of my life.” The rest of the group sat in awkward silence for a moment after her departure, shocked by the outburst. </p>
<p>“Guys, we need to do something. I know Santana is usually full-on, but I’ve never seen her this… upset,” Kurt stated, wanting to help Santana yet aware that he couldn’t let her know that if he wanted to live. </p>
<p>Mercedes nodded in agreement. “We need to talk to Sebastian, find out what happened. We can’t do anything too bad though, we still have Regionals,” she reminded them after seeing the look of glee in her friends’ eyes. </p>
<p>“Let’s give Sebastian a taste of his own medicine,” Puck grinned, thinking he was clever. "We don't have to do everything at the same time, we need him to hate every goddamn day." From there, the group began to form their plan.</p><hr/>
<p>Often, people describe unexpected events by saying that it was as if the world around them had slowed down. The very idea of that seemed absurd to Sebastian Smythe, but as he saw Puck’s large frame marching down the corridor with a slushie in his hand, he finally understood. His feet stayed rooted to the spot in front of his locker while he watched on from far above his body. The sudden cold knocked him back into his body, where the sudden sound of laughter greeted him. “What the fuck was that for?” The boy wiped the icy drink from his eyes and shook out his hands in an attempt to remove as much of it as possible. </p>
<p>“I don’t know what you’ve done, but you’ve done something,” Puck began, unhelpfully vague. “Stay away from Santana, do you hear me?” Not waiting for a response, Puck pushed Sebastian back against the locker before he walked away. </p>
<p>From further down the corridor, Sebastian saw Santana watching him. She did not attempt to help, but he saw in her eyes that she had nothing to do with Puck’s attack. Still, her lack of intervention made Sebastian scowl at her before marching off in the opposite direction to find a quiet place to clean himself up. </p>
<p>At the far end of the building, just up the stairs from the art department, stood a door leading to a set of toilets so rarely used, their existence was often forgotten. For the most part, they were used by anyone in desperate need of hiding. That was why Sebastian found himself locking a cubicle door and sitting down on the toilet lid. Red slushie dripped slowly down the back of his shirt, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to care. </p>
<p>The boy didn’t cry often and never at something so trivial as a slushie. However, warm tracks ran down his face through the cold remains. Sebastian took out his phone, his hands shaking from more than the cold. It took a while for the ringtone to finally end, but once he heard the voice, he couldn’t help but sob. </p>
<p>“Sebastian?” Erik questioned gently. The older man was at work; Sebastian knew that. But he felt the desperate need to talk to someone, and he had been running out of options recently. “Hey, angle, what’s happened?”</p>
<p>Sniffling like the child he was, Sebastian replied, “I’m sorry. It’s just not a good day.” That was an understatement. It was entirely possible that Sebastian had not had a good day since he was ten years old. He felt as if everything he had buried down for so long was finally resurfacing. One short conversation with Santana Lopez of all people, and he was feeling everything all at once. </p>
<p>“Okay, hang on a moment, yeah?” Erik requested. From his end of the line came a shuffling sound before silence as he left his office’s staff room to find a quiet corridor. “Are you still there?” he asked, receiving a single noise in response. “Don’t be like that, it can’t be that bad.”</p>
<p>“I’m an asshole, Erik. I just fuck up people’s lives and I don’t know how to stop. I don’t want everyone to hate me anymore. I just want - I don’t fucking know what I want anymore,” Sebastian sobbed into his phone. </p>
<p>“Listen, I have a meeting soon that I need to attend, but how about I come and pick you up after?”</p>
<p>As tempting as the offer sounded, Sebastian took a moment to breathe and think it through. He had Cheerios after school and as sore as he felt from the previous night’s activities, he was worried about what Sue would think. The woman had the ability to take everything away from him just as soon as he had got it. “I can’t leave,” he told Erik. “I have something on tonight.”</p>
<p>“Well, how about after that then? Your dancing thing, right? We can get takeout and just relax,” offered the older man kindly.</p>
<p>Sebastian scoffed, already starting to feel better. “It’s cheerleading and you know it,” he laughed. </p>
<p>“You know I love you, right?” Erik confessed, out of the blue. “Remember that when you’re miserable.” Luckily, he didn’t give Sebastian any time to respond to his sudden announcement. “I have to go, I’m really sorry. I’ll see you later, though?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Sebastian responded, although not expecting much, “I’ll see you later.”</p><hr/>
<p>Sebastian had left the toilets feeling much calmer than before. He had changed out of his own clothes and into his Cheerios outfit he desperately needed to wash. The tight material stuck awkwardly to his thin frame as he sat uncomfortably in his history lesson, his history lesson which his old Spanish teacher now taught. Unfortunately, he could not teach history either. Mr Schue was droning on about a section Sebastian had already studied at Dalton, so he felt less guilty about the fact that he was not paying any attention. Before he knew it, the shrill bell could be heard in the distance. </p>
<p>“Thank you, guys. Remember, I want your papers on my desk by next week,” the teacher announced as the class filed out, ignorant of his words. “Sebastian,” Will began once half of his class had left, “can I talk to you for a moment?”</p>
<p>Not remotely interested in talking to Mr Schue, Sebastian had to take a minute to breathe. He walked himself over to the front desk and waited. </p>
<p>“I’ve been thinking recently, it can’t be easy for you to be living alone. Now, I know it’s not cool to talk to me about it, but Miss Pillsbury has a few free meeting spots. She’d be happy to listen to whatever has been bothering you recently.” The look in Mr Schuester’s eyes fully declared that it was not, in fact, a choice. He was going to have to speak to the woman. </p>
<p>Eyes narrowing, Sebastian replied, “ have you considered, sir, that maybe I don’t want to talk to your girlfriend either? You want to know what the problem is, ask your little club. I’m sure they’d be happy to tell you everything that’s wrong with me.” With that, the boy left for Cheerios practice.  </p>
<p>Cheerios practice was something that Sebastian usually looked forward to. Annoying Santana and hearing her girlfriend’s stupid replies was far more entertaining than he could ever have predicted. However, that particular day, the practice did not install the typical joy in him. Every stretched movement made his insides ache, every jump made him feel faint. His previous evening had been spent with Erik, who had some rather violent kinks despite looking like a rather vanilla accountant. It wasn’t something Sebastian would ever agree too normally, but the fact that the man was paying his bills encouraged him to go along with the rough sex Erik had initiated. It had even seemed fun at the time, but now he was heavily regretting it. </p>
<p>Coach Sylvester spent much of the practice watching him closely. She called him out brutally between run-throughs, yet she did not insist he carry out any form of punishment as she had already made two of the other girls do. The girl who was clearly still head-over-heels for Sebastian had already left crying. He heard Santana laughing faintly when it happened; he couldn’t help but grin at her. </p>
<p>Practice ended after what seemed like years. The brief moments of amusement were long forgotten under a mountain of pain and tiredness. Sebastian didn’t have anything to change out of, and the shower in his apartment was perfectly adequate, so he skipped going back to the changing rooms in the hope that he could avoid Santana as she left. Their talk the previous evening had clearly meant nothing to her, so what was the point? Who was he kidding? Of course she couldn’t change her mind about him with such short notice. It was not long ago that he was antagonizing her in the cafeteria, backed only by his forgettable admirer. </p>
<p>Caught up in his thoughts, he missed the first few times Coach Sylvester called his name. Turning to see her behind him, Sebastian paled. What could she possibly want? “You, my office, now,” she got straight to the point. The boy felt his pulse increase.</p>
<p>Arriving shortly after the coach, Sebastian shut the office door behind him and sat down, not waiting to be told to do so. He asked, trying to sound more like himself, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” </p>
<p>“Don’t play smart with me, Third Gay. Why do you look like one of Beiste’s punching bags?” she asked as gently as Sebastian had ever heard her. </p>
<p>Unsure of what she wanted exactly, he blurted out. “I’ve joined the New Directions properly.” He was greeted by silence.</p>
<p>Coach Sylvester watched him patiently, wondering where to go next. Clearly, something was going on and, despite the fact she usually took great joy in torturing students, she was still a teacher. If she missed something and the boy ended up on the end of a rope, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. She waited for a moment more before deciding that it was probably best to leave him for a while and see what happened. Sue proceeded with her plan. “Good, I have made a certain agreement with that whimpering man who still thinks he’s in charge. Figgins told Will that if his best friends don’t make it to Nationals, he will have to stop funding the group. Why else is going to waste their money on them?”</p>
<p>Sebastian sighed and asked, “why do you even need me if you already have a plan?”</p>
<p>“Because you, my little twink, are going to ensure they fail at Regionals. You’re one of them now.  Ruin them,” Coach Sylvester laughed maniacally while Sebastian sat confused in front of her. Apparently, that was his cue to leave. Taking it gratefully, the boy left the school as quickly as he could. </p>
<p>The unusually cold weather hit him suddenly as he left the school, backpack strap clutched tightly in his left hand to keep it in place over his shoulder. Luckily, the walk back to his apartment wasn’t that far, so he reached into his pocket for his headphones, content with making the journey home alone. Before he could insert the headphones, however, a voice called his name. </p>
<p>“Seb, are you ignoring me deliberately,” said an amused Erik from across the car pack. He had taken off his tie and undone the first few buttons of his shirt, making him look slightly younger as he leant against the bonnet of his black sports car he kept mostly for show. </p>
<p>Sebastian froze in his tracks, taking a moment to process what he was seeing. Earlier that day, he had called Erik, but he wasn’t expecting anything to come of it. Promises didn’t seem to mean anything to the older man. “You’re here,” Sebastian stated, matter-of-factly. </p>
<p>“Are you disappointed?” asked Erik, sounding genuinely hurt by the idea that his presence was unwanted. Sebastian had been the one to call him, after all.</p>
<p>The sudden change in tone was dizzying to the boy. Fearing that Erik was going to cause a scene in the car park, Sebastian tried to sound casual when he said, “I just didn’t expect you to actually come, that’s all.”</p>
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